What is ROCKWOOL?

Rockwool, known as stonewool in Europe, is a particularly useful product for modern man. Rockwool exists as product, manufactured and sold globally, because it is a low cost, non-combustible, durable and health safe insulation material.

Rockwool is made from rock, basalt, anorthosite and carbonates, in a man made process somewhat similar to the way lava is made naturally in volcanos. The rocks are melted in a cupola (furnace,) then spun into fibres and processed in different ways to produce a range of products ideally suited for particular uses:

· Rigid slabs

· Flexible rolls

· Flexible wired mattress

· Pipe insulation

· ‘Construction’ rockwool for sandwich panel cores

· ‘Loose Fill’ for cryogenic insulation

· Slabs suitable for growing plants in!

Health Safe: Rockwool was classified as ‘Class 3’ by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research into Cancer (IARC) in October 2001. This means the product is not able to be considered as carcinogenic.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC): ROCKWOOL obtains a ‘pass’ when tested for VOC and does not represent a risk to the health or wellbeing of occupiers of buildings.

Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP): ROCKWOOL does not use ODP chemicals in the manufacturing process and ODP chemicals cannot be formed during the manufacturing process.

No Asbestos: No ROCKWOOL products contain any asbestos.

Non-combustibility: ROCKWOOL stonewool products are non-combustible. The rockwool (stonewool) products achieve this result when tested to all the international standards, eg; AS 1530.1, BS 476 pt4, ASTM E 136, IMO A799, DIN 4102.

Sustainable: The raw materials that rockwool is manufactured from, basalt, anorthosite and carbonates, are regarded as inexhaustible reserves. These reserves are renewable in a geological sense.

Rockwool in its lifetime (more than 50 years) can save more than 100 times the energy used for its production.

Rockwool stonewool has on average a recycled content of its raw materials of 28%.

Rockwool insulation provides thermal insulation, passive fire resistance, acoustic insulation and handles moisture by either repelling liquid water or letting water vapour easily pass through it. And it is sustainable and health safe. Rockwool insulation, is indeed, a very useful product!